Morgan Stanley retained its title as Europe's top ETF broker in 2012, according to Markit rankings, a year in which the value of the products traded fell by over €50bn.

The US investment bank was ranked the top broker for all ETF asset classes in 2012, brokering trades worth €27.58bn, according to data provider Markit MSA. Markit’s rankings are based on data provided by brokers that covers about 75% of cash equity trading in Europe.

Deutsche Bank ranked second having brokered trades worth €23.96bn over the year, while Commerzbank ranked third with €21.55bn. In 2011, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank were also at the top of the rankings. Markit did not have Commerzbank data for 2011 and began reporting the bank's data earlier this year.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch took fifth place in 2012, after Societe Generale.

Overall, ETF trading in Europe by the brokers tracked fell in 2012, according to Markit, despite more than $27bn in net inflows to the products in the region. Trading volumes tracked by Markit fell to €252.59bn last year, down from €313.1bn in 2011

Markit attributed the fall to investors buying and holding ETFs for longer.

Of the total trading volume tracked, equity ETFs accounted for 69%, while those offering fixed income exposure accounted for 17%. Commodity ETF trades represented 12% of the volume and alternative and currency trades represented just 1%.

Tuesday marked the 20th anniversary of the first US listing of an ETF.

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The first ETF, known as Toronto 35 Index Participation Units, was launched in Canada in 1990. But it was State Street which pioneered the use of ETFs in the US through the launch of its S&P 500 index, known as the SPDR in January 1993.

SPDR now has $123bn in assets under management and attracts a daily trading volume of 144 million shares. It has become the most actively-traded equity security in the world.

Much of the industry’s evolution globally has been characterised by providers Offering investors new, increasingly specific market exposures through ETFs.

Earlier this week Amundi, which manages €8.9bn in assets in its ETF business, launched a European equity ETF that excludes financial stocks. The fund followed the launch of a separate ETF that specifically covers the bank and insurance sectors.

On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices said it had created an index for Commerzbank to measure the performance of 40 companies from South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey.

Consultancy ETFGI’s European broker rankings listed Societe Generale, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank as the top three of the 81 brokers it tracks.

--Write to Sarah Krouse at sarah.krouse@dowjones.com and Mike Foster at mike.foster@dowjones.com